Discussion

I would eat out more if . . .

The other side of the coin from the thread started by Spice_zing. I enjoy cooking, but mostly I enjoy cooking if I'm not doing it just for myself. In my ideal world I would eat out almost every meal, unless I was cooking for others. I don't have any shortage of good places to eat, and I don't object to going out by myself a lot of the time, so mostly it comes down to living within my income.

I'm with you--I genuinely enjoy cooking (and baking), too, but on the 3rd day of corned beef a Casa Katty, well...yes. Can I make you a plate? :) Food is meant to be shared. Clearly, I was meant to have more people around to feed. Or I was supposed to have a little restaurant of some sort. Or some combo thereof.

For sure, I'd eat out more often if I had a fatter wallet, but in all honesty, I like a balance. I like to eat out here and there, then I really do appreciate certain things I make that I can only get at home. It's like when you go on vacation and can't wait to get back in your own kitchen instead of going out every night, y'know? Still, I wouldn't mind having some sorta fantasy-funded food expense account. :) Where do I sign up?

I would eat out more often if I felt there was good value in doing so.

While there are many excellent and creative restaurants, as a good cook who enjoys shopping for food and preparing meals I'm well aware that I can cook a meal of equal or better quality at a fraction of the price of dining out. Since I get pleasure in cooking we generally only dine out to socialize with friends.

I will say one of the advantages of travelling is dining out as we have no choice so I don't mind the money spent. There is an irony that I can be better acquainted with the restaurant scene in a city several thousand miles away than in my home city.

I will say one of the advantages of travelling is dining out as we have no choice so I don't mind the money spent. There is an irony that I can be better acquaintanced with the restaurant scene in a city several thousand miles away than in my home city.

"I would eat out more often if I felt there was good value in doing so.

While there are many excellent and creative restaurants, as a good cook who enjoys shopping for food and preparing meals I'm well aware that I can cook a meal of equal or better quality at a fraction of the price of dining out. "

"Eating out" doesn't have to mean $50pp. Living in Chicago there are a great many exceptional ethnic options where you can eat well for under $10 a person. Given the fairly unusual variety of ingredients it's near-impossible to replicate at home economically. Possibly cheaper if you're cooking for a group but not for 1-2 people. My wife and I eat out a lot but for every meal that we spend $100 or more we have half a dozen that run about $20 (for two).

+1. We eat out less than anybody I know. I would peruse the local offerings, gorge myself, and comment on them. I would love to be subsidized on this local restaurant journey, but this is just a pipe dream, after all.

If the restaurants would let me customize my meal with true abandonment.

In the restaurant I usually order as is with little to no change, at home, 'lets add kimchee to this,' 'nah I'll just add an egg on top,' 'Oh how about a Mex/Polish mash up instead'... I would be the worse customer ever if I ate out every night.

Yeah, because the food there might be a little scary... woooooooooo! They go to Burger king in Mexico (a particular sore spot with me, a BK in my beautiful previously unsmirched Sonoran retreat) and expect - I don't know what.

living in Honolulu, which not a major food capitol of the world certainly has variety, i was always amazed to see the senior's lined up outside "Sizzler" at 5pm for the senior specials. I don't know, maybe they really don't have sizzler where they live, but I bet they don't have an Ono's or a Helena's or for a lot of them a decent chinese or thai restaurant either.

My mom recently moved to be near us, and we are going nuts trying to find places that we are willing to set foot in that also satisfy her idea of a restaurant. She wants bland old-fashioned food, with an occasional steak for "fancy" - I am personally very reluctant to pay the price for a steak that would live up to the high quality of my childhood steaks. The flavor of beef has suffered tremendously in my lifetime.

AHA! I hereby wish to amend my previous food wish to a combination of dining out whenever I wish, supplemented by a personal chef. Then, on the nights I do cook at home, I would like very spiffy elves to clean up afterwards. Thank you.

+1...I would eat out more if...the food at restaurants was consistently good as the food at home. I am not the most fabulous cook in the world but I make damn good food that I enjoy and if no one else has to eat it that's what matters. There are rare occasions for me these days since I have developed this wonderful passion for all things food when I can't fiddle with a dish which I enjoy more at home - both eating and preparing. Also, there aren't the most spectacular places around to go out to eat, most of it is not that great that I'd be motivated to go there. I very rarely really want something at a restaurant, but instead sit around all day craving another spinach salad topped with seared tuna and homemade vinaigrette. It shocks me just how delectable food from your own kitchen can be and it's so much fun.

I really do enjoy dinning out,but so many of the new and exciting restaurants in my city(Toronto) have "no reservations" policies.There's no way in hell I'm gonna wait 45 mins + for a chance to maybe blown away....Plus being in the biz,I can be a bit too critical at times.

Well, the issue of $ comes to mind, but I think my most limiting factor is the issue of having a dairy allergy and being highly gluten-sensitive. I know I can call ahead and certain restaurants will accommodate, but some cuisines are less adaptive than others, I've found.

I also prefer to eat vegetarian, but given the aforementioned issues, this can sometimes be impossible to maintain if I actually want to eat more than a garden salad.

All that being said, I do consider myself lucky to live in an area that has a number of restaurants that I a) don't have to worry about my allergies and b) have a decent to wide selection of menu items I can actually eat!